No orchestra, large or small, ever has a settled relationship with its community. It’s always a thing in flux, dynamic, fluid, fragile and complex. Whether it’s how to attract new audiences, invigorate connections to current concertgoers or tap the power of technology, orchestras are facing–and not always meeting–unprecedented challenges to remain vital.

Thanks for this discussion… I appreciate that you edited the AUDIO down to several key observations. The biggest point for me by Ms. Rutter is that the world has changed but we are far behind the times. In many places we are still reluctant to “lower ourselves” from being aloof artists. But when we realize that alienated audiences are simply looking for inspiration and spirituality, which classical has in abundance, then we start to realize that setting that personal context is something only the musicians can do convincingly.

Also made me realize, I think I misunderstood you, Marc. The complete transcript of the podcast is up, but we will not be posting a complete transcript of the whole 1.5 hour conversation. There is a live blog of the conversation, though, that provides a bit more context: http://symphonyforum.org/?p=916